Well done Kashif bhai. you , talat and Hamid Mir are heros for youth of pakistan. We give your talk more credability than any politician. You guys are responsible for middle class sensatizing of society. We are thank ful to all of you for that.

Excellent interview! Well done and thanks to the pkpolitics team for bringing it to us. You guys did a great job in producing it professionally and on such short notice in the face of impatient ‘bilaktay huay’ fans
Overseas Pakistanis need to figure out how to effectively organize and support these new heroes of the Pakistan Movement, especially the lawyers and judges and the journalist movements.

In Belgium, London and Davos, if anyone is going to the peaceful protests, try to get a few of the pictures of the Ghaleezistani Police beating up lawyers, women and journalists printed in large format 3×4 ft. or something.. so it shows nicely on the TV cameras.

http://pakistaniat.com/images/wrong1.jpg
http://pakistaniat.com/images/wrong3.jpg

If mushie doesn’t see it, fine, show it to his foreign masters. Perhaps they have some conscience left in their predator hearts.

Excellent. But still needed more time …..Bravo!!!!

Please take more views from the Anchors of the talk shows which are no longer on air. This is an excellent attempt but please a longer interview…..

Thank you Pkpolitics for bringing back to us Kashif Abbassi. It was worth the wait and I agree with others that this is a very professional production.

Even though many of us are informed about the pressure on the media, Kashif’s interview elucidated so many more incidents and outrages against journalists which at least I had not fully known about. It is imperative to get these stories out and to force the world to pay attention. It is not enough to say that the media lacks freedom in pakistan- we have to hold the Musharraf government accountable for the physical brutality which they have committed.

We are proud of you Kashif and we look forward to the day you are permitted to do what you love to do; i.e bear witness for Pakistanis so that they may know the truth.

I am hapy to hear Kshif Abassi after a long time. BUT there did appear to be reluctence either on the part of Gul or Kashif about calling a spade a spade. And that might be due to a desire not burn any bridges.
However, I feel it is high time that we hold Mr. Musharraf responsible for what he has done to this country- starting from september 11 2001 . We should articulate and describe his character or lack there of and we should also examine what he did as COAS before he took over in 1999 . Discussing the events in abstract without accusing the responsible party is not what we would like to hear.
In this month of Muharram- we should keep in mind that we must not only condemn in our hearts the modern Yazids and Shimmers but do so openely so that everyone can hear and know.
That is where the newsmedia can be of great service to the country

@ shimatoree

yes he should speak the truth and pay the price. Although he has spoken a lot but that is not enough. Its easier to comment “is not what we would like to hear” than do something. its high time that people got up for their rights and stopped putting the entire burden on certain sections of society

Awesome show. Kudos to the PkPolitics team. It’s difficult to describe what a kickass job you guys are doing! We need this kind of citizen journalism if we’re going to change things.

Kashif, you’re a star man. You are a hero to the Pakistani people. Stay strong. We fully support you.

Thank you admin and Ms. Gul Bukhari for this interview. Kashif Abbasi is among the heroes of Pakistan. We appreciate his efforts to keep the people informed and hope that one day he will be back on-air.

Thank you Ms Gul Bukhari and kahif Abbasi for bringing the real truth and exposing the brutal regime. I admire Ms bukhari for all the brillient questions and praise Mr Abbasi for awnsering in details and truthfully. You were successful in exposing the brutal regime and their cruel tactics used to Muzzle media. We thank sahafis for their personal sacrifices. We the Awam are with you all the times.

Kashif, the only thing soothing for you is that undoubtedly we all will give more worth to what you say and believe more in you as compare to those who are already back on air, once you are are back on air. Most people compromise easily, some do so hardly and a few don’t do it at any price! those few are priceless and unmatched. And you should be contended that even an average Pakistani can differentiate b/w them and he does.
These are the circumstances that allow us to reassess the credibility of you guys and i am sure many have changed their minds that who stands longer in the face of evil.
May Allah ( and only he can truly ) reward you.

Ayaz, Halle/Saale
Germany.

thank you admin..
we love you kashif abbasi..
he is really one of the heroes..
Kashif you rock..
i wish our politicians may be as sincere to the country as these courageous journalists and lawyers..
Ameen..
please read this bbs article.. on kaalay kartoot of senior army officials..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/miscellaneous/story/2008/01/080120_wusat_bat_sey_bat_ra.shtml

Brother Kashif

Someday someone will write the true history of Pakistan

You and your colleagues, who stood up for truth will be classed as heroes and the cowards who used force and lied to the nation for decades will be remembered in history as `Ghadaar`s`.

Every generation has their own heroes. For years we have to look 50 years back to find one. But now with people like you we do not have to look for heroes in British India era. Because we got our own.

Thank you standing up for truth. I salute you and the coming generations for decades will also do inshAllah.

Thanks

Outstanding honesty and courage has been demonstrated by Kashif Abbasi and some of the other media heros………despite the personal danger from a despotic regime and ruthless establishment, these good folk had the courage to bring out the truth and to say their mind……….they give all of us hope that there will be a brighter tomorrow, free from the tyranny and despotisim of our army and army backed establishment. And pkpolitics as well as Gul Bukhari are doing an excellent job to keep the issues alive and in the mind of a lot of us. We also need to figure out the way to keep these issues alive in the minds of the people at large who do not have access to internet. It may be a long time before we see a free media again in Pakistan, therefore alternate channels will need to be thought out keep spreading the message of hope, otherwise the darkness is unbearable. Geo Kashif Abbasi & Shahid Masood & Nisar Abbasi & Hamid Mir & Talat Hussain. Geo Justice Iftikhar & Aitzaz & other courageous judges and lawyer who are contiuing to take a stand. It is not all bad, for every General and Despot there is a patriot and a democrat. One day we will realize our potential and one day we will be great as a people and as a country.

Every time a dictator moved on to Pakistan, there were always few people who stood up to him.

After all LFOs, many of the judges took stand for truth and resigned
Media person resigned when they were asked to act upon orders from a dictators
Even politicians refused to bend in front of a dictator and faced death, life sentences and exiles.

But I don’t remember even one army general resigning because his boss asked him to break constitution. In all of the martial law years how many examples do we of army generals or other officers standing down for truth

This seriously make me question the moral values of Pakistani army officers. Is there not a single army officer who stand up to musharaff and resigns for taking action against the media, judiciary, waziristan and the parliament.

I believe the real problem in Pakistan is the army. Our army is so brave that after every eight or ten years they attack Prime Minister House. Then they either hang the prime mister, imprison him or through him in exile. Then for next eight to ten years the army general with the full support of his subordinates, rip the constitution apart, make changes they suits himself and his rule, take the freedom of speaking truth and kill justice.

By the way on the professional grounds. Army has lost half of the country, humiliatingly laid down their weapons in front of Indian army. The uniform of our general and his gun is on display in Indian army academy. But all of that was acceptable and we were still proud of them, until they turned the guns towards our own people, start killing the innocent on the name of war against terror.

May Allah Help us. But as they say God help those who help themselves.

to ‘welcome’mushrraf in London , a protest demnstration is ebing planned on 10 downing street, london on Monday, 28th January, in the morning time.

details will be posted, hopefully by tomorrow after finalisation of plan.
but better start spreading the message so peole starting plaaning their participation. thanks

An excellent and engaging interview! Kudos to Gul for asking brilliant questions and to Kashif for his insightful, reflective, articulate and candid responses. What a dynamic power house! Move over Barbara Walters/Chris Matthew….

@ Admin

excellent job. Well done.

Kashif Abbassi has also exposed the threats by MQM. Shame on MQM supporters…

We should all ‘welcome’ Illegal president Musharraf on Monday 28th and those of us who can go inside and ask questions, please ask him the questions that irritate him the most (look at his old interviews for a clue). He looks stupid when he answers the questions. He makes such head lines: ‘Am I a Mad Man’ (head line of Washington Post with his picture next to that!!!!)

Assalam-o-Alaikum,

Thanks, Ms. Gul Bukhari for inviting our post precious friend one and only Kashif Abbasi on Pakistan Politics. We would like to request you to please call at your earliest Dr. Shahid Masood to say few words to the viewers.

February 18, 2008 might bring a change in Pakistan and we get rid of General (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf once for ever……………. AMIN

Pakistan Zindabad.

Well done kashif.Shame on Mush and MQM.
I hope people vote against mush in massive numbers so that he has to resign.

Nice to hear kashif after almost 2 months.He is just a great anchor.

The thing that confuses me is that talat is now back on air.So is kamran khan.Does that mean they have agreed the code of conduct given by the pemra?

By not obeying the code of conduct nusrat javed,msjtaq minhas,kashif abbasi etc are still off air.

Letz all hope and pray for good.

good work pk team. its a shame that musharaf and traitors doesn’t possess any element of tolerance.; now musharaf is on its way to europe to explain how good his sponsored dictatorship has been. its an honor that Chief justice, wuqlas, and brave anchors are holding their position for delivering facts. good wishes kashif abbasi inshallah you will return.

Wonderful interview and a great effort. Well done to the entire pkpolitics team. It was very good to see Kashif answering questions with extreme candidness - most impressive.

@admin, please try to get more coverage for your efforts through youtube etc - these kinds of efforts need to be seen by more.

thanks a lot Admin …for putting such a nice interview …
i was dying to listen from this brave Hero of ours …
kashif …keep ur spirits high!
we all are with you !!!!
but i have to say …
interviewver was not as good as kashif…
she was repeating the same questions ,which he has answered already …
that cause short of time at the end …..
over all its a great effort ….
thanks a million…
God Bless You !

Posted on Mon, Jan. 21, 2008

Pakistan’s leader eases grip on TV but bans some journalists

Tim Johnson | McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: January 21, 2008 04:23:02 PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Pervez Musharraf relaxed his chokehold on Pakistan’s airwaves Monday, allowing the nation’s largest and most popular television network back on the air 79 days after he forced it to go dark.
But Geo-TV’s restoration to cable systems across the country came at a high price. Its owner, like those of other networks, had to agree not to criticize Musharraf, the military, foreign policy or the judiciary, and to limit visual images of terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
Also, at least five public-affairs program hosts and news anchors remained blacklisted from the cable channel.
“Musharraf has some personal disliking for me,” said Hamid Mir, a journalist whose public affairs program, “Capital Talk,” was one of the most influential in the nation before Musharraf pulled the plug Nov. 3.
Shahid Masood, the once-popular host of an Urdu-language public affairs program, now is working at a Geo-TV bureau in Dubai. “They pressured management to fire me,” he said in a telephone interview. “I’m on the top of the (black)list.”
The disappearance of the blacklisted journalists and talk-show hosts from Geo-TV and other networks is no small affair in Pakistan, where the end of a state television monopoly in 2002 had led to an explosion of networks and the emergence of a galaxy of public affairs show hosts, newscasters and star interviewers.
“The TV anchors who do these talk shows are more popular than TV actors,” said Mazhar Abbas, the head of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, a trade group.
It was Musharraf who’d initially opened up the airwaves.
“Pakistanis were tuning into Indian channels to find out information about Pakistan,” said Adnan Rehmat, the head of Internews Pakistan, a watchdog group. So Musharraf allowed private networks to emerge alongside the dour state PTV to wean back viewers.
The nation’s largest media group — the owner of the Urdu-language Jang newspaper and The News, published in English — created Geo-TV, the biggest of the new channels. It and other private channels sparked a sensation.
Musharraf first came into conflict with the new television networks last March, when he tried to sack former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. The showdown drew around-the-clock news coverage, much of it favorable to Chaudhry.
When Musharraf declared emergency rule in November, he took aim at the 60 or so new television channels.
Amid mounting financial pressure, Geo-TV’s owner, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, signed the “code of conduct” restricting coverage a few weeks ago. Yet the government kept his news channel and Geo Super sports channel off the air until Monday.
He’s relocated to Dubai, taking his family with him.
“He was threatened. He was chased. A bullet was fired on the office of his personal assistant in Karachi, but (he) stood by his principles,” Mir, one of Geo-TV’s blacklisted anchors, wrote in an e-mail. “He’s paid a very heavy price.”
With elections looming Feb. 18, and Musharraf eager to convince the world that he isn’t muzzling the media before the vote, he made the announcement while he was on an eight-day visit to Europe.
Masood, the banned program host, pondered how journalists allowed back on the air would wrestle with the new restrictions.
“How can you have a news channel if you cannot discuss foreign and defense policy?” Masood asked.
Added Mir, his banned colleague: “I don’t think it’s a clear victory.”

McClatchy Newspapers 2008

[...] backed up on 02:05:2008Originally Published: Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:58:49 +0000http://pkpolitics.com/2008/01/20/better-pakistan-20-januar… Exclusive Interview with Kashif Abbasi - hosted by Gul Bukhari. Kashif speaks openly for the first [...]

Here is a silent majority who wants to speak but cannot do it because of various reasons, unfortunately, we r living in a graveyard with a haunted and silent populace who feels but cannot express. But u and ur colleagues are symbol of life –alive man who is still alive. God bless u.